Halo 2, eh? The much hyped sequel to, as many people say (including myself), the greatest Xbox game to date. Valid information on Halo 2 has been scarce to say the least. The only main information that’s been released to the public about Halo 2 has been at the last two E3s, and with this year's E3 going on right now, more Halo 2 information has been released.
The first and most important piece of information, and perhaps the most important/wanted is the release date. Bungie didn’t want to announce a release date "Until it was set in concrete" which makes us all quite confident in the American 9th November, 2004 release date, announced at E3 this year.
At the end of Halo, Master Chief escapes the explosion of The Halo ring-world which his enemies, the Convernant Armada, do not. Halo 2 is set on earth, when the Convernant tracks down Master Chief and seeks revenge. This is all we know for certain currently by rumours suggesting missions on the moon and perhaps chasing the convernant back to their original homeworld.
New features set to be included in Halo 2 are; destructible environments (seen in games such as Red Faction on the PS2); Vehicle "stealing" while a enemy is driving it (first seen in Bungie’s Halo 2 trailer at E3 2003, available from bungie.net); much improved graphics (see the many screenshots we have available); enhanced AI; almost life-like lighting and last but not least Xbox Live! Support (fans of Halo’s multiplayer feature will definitely enjoy this!)
Many rumours have come and gone across the Internet during the wait for Halo 2, properly because of the massive fan following and forum debates going too far. Some rumours that have been circulating include the complete plot of the game and various "fake" release dates.
Halo 2 being a first person shooter will no doubt use guns as in all first person shooters, many, if not all of the guns and weapons from Halo will be there, but Bungie are there to ensure all the guns have had a little revamping. The assault rifle is now the battle riffle, making it slightly more accurate, and giving it a slower rate of fire and it will also have a scope, kind of like the pistol and assault rifle rolled into one. The SMG seen in last year's E3 trailer will also be there, and the most exciting weapon related improvement in Halo 2 is duel wielding of weapons, which enables you to hold any two weapons at a time. This ends the use of grenades and melee attacks. You use the left weapon by pressing the left trigger and the right weapon by pressing the right trigger. To cause carnage, press both at the same time.
That’s about all we know about Halo 2 for the moment. Bungie are keeping everything under wraps. More news as soon as it breaks. SP
